Expanding product range to tap potential growth segments
Hyva, the global provider of innovative and highly efficient transport solutions for the commercial vehicle and environmental service industries, has established itself as the market leader in hydraulics and tipper manufacturing in India since its entry in 1997. Building on its strong presence in the Indian market, Hyva is planning to have greater focus on the waste management segment through its range of hook loaders, skip loaders and compactors, as also on other applications such as articulated truck-mounted cranes in the coming years. Despite challenging market conditions in 2012, the company is optimistic over the long-term prospects in its major markets – the BRIC countries. Mr. Brice de la Morandiere, CEO, Hyva Group, spoke to Motorindia about his company’s plans for India, focus on the BRIC markets and the other important issues.
2012 has been a testing year for the automotive industry not only in India but also in China and Brazil, with the commercial vehicle segment going through a slowdown. A major portion of the Hyva Group’s global turnover comes from the BRIC markets, with China, India and Brazil accounting for 40, 20 and 10 per cent of its global sales. True to a market leader’s response to difficult times, Hyva is making use of the downturn in the best possible way by exploring other markets for expansion, while strengthening its operations in the BRIC countries as well.
Says Mr. Morandiere: “The BRIC countries are very important for Hyva. Though the conditions are not too bright at present, we expect the markets to recover soon – first Brazil, then China, followed by India. Western Europe has compensated a bit for the slowdown in the BRIC markets while we are eyeing other new markets as well.”
Hyva is also expanding its presence in Eastern Europe with a sizable investment being made in Russia while it has established a new company in the Middle East, in Dubai. An acquisition made in Indonesia in May 2012 led to the formation of PT Hyva Indonesia.
Globally, Hyva commands a 40 per cent market share in the hydraulics segment. The company does not seem to look back, as it aggressively works on supplementing its product range by bringing in more innovations to the market. In truck-mounted cranes, Hyva made a massive expansion in Brazil in 2012 which resulted in an enormous growth in market share. The company will be adopting a similar strategy for India in the next couple of years, by developing the right products to suit local conditions and also by local manufacturing.
In India, Hyva is a strong player in the premium range hydraulics and tippers, offering products and solutions with world-class quality and reliability. The company backs up its product range with strong sales and service network and extensive R&D work to support its customers. “Hyva has pioneered the front-end tipper market in India by combining superior hydraulic knowledge and engineering support for tippers. The Indian market is one of the biggest in the world, and in the next few years, we will work on articulated truck-mounted cranes. We will also explore bringing in our range of products for waste handling, including hook loaders, skip loaders, compactors, etc. These are present in these segments in China while the Indian market is next in line”, he states.
Hyva has four facilities in India – at Navi Mumbai, Pune, Jamshedpur and Bangalore – and another facility at Pithampur where it has a partnership arrangement. “At present, we have enough capacities to take care of the needs of the Indian market. For tippers we can produce flexibly as per demand, while for hydraulics we are expanding our capacity to be able to respond to the growing market demand”, Mr. Morandiere adds.
Hyva plans to export its India-made products to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal as well as to the Middle East and Africa in the near future. It currently caters to these markets from its facilities in Europe.
The company supplies tippers and hydraulics to leading truck manufacturers in India like Tata Motors, VECV, AMW, MAN, Volvo, Daimler, Scania and Kamaz. It leverages on its global experience to provide customized solutions as per the specific requirements of the OEMs. It has 34 dealers across the country, effectively backed by a strong service network which enables it to provide quick and efficient service to customers.
With the projected growth in infrastructure in the next five to 10 years in India, Hyva expects to nearly double its sales, which is likely to happen with increasing market demand. For now, the leading application-builder is focused on widening its product range in a bid to tap potential growth segments in the coming years.